An incredible amount of movement and upsets happened throughout the Border Eight this last week. A lot of teams made statements, solidifying themselves as elite teams, and even more got taken down a peg.

Nebraska went into their game against Michigan State having won five of their last six games with their sole loss coming against Michigan, arguably the best team in the country. On the other hand, Michigan State on the other hand was working under an interim head coach and had lost six straight games. Nebraska was expected to roll over the Spartans easily and clinch their first bowl spot since 2016. That did not happen. The Spartan defense stepped up incredibly strong, holding the Huskers to just 283 total yards, and turning them over three times forced three turnovers and only allowed two endzone tripsletting them in the endzone twice. Michigan State’s offense did not have a much better day, only putting up 295 yards, but winning the turnover battle led the Spartans to a 20-17 win and kept them alive for a chance at a bowl game. 

Depending on the betting site, Iowa and Northwestern had an over/under of 29.5; the lowest in college football history. This metric was a perfect description of the abysmal Iowa offense. Despite being so low, the under managed to hit as the Hawkeyes won against Northwestern 10-7. Iowa started with the ball and the drives of the first half were as follows: punt, punt, missed field goal, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, end of half. No points were scored until Iowa managed to block a Wildcat punt at the beginning of the third quarter to set up a 25 yard touchdown drive. Both teams would continue to play solid defense up until Northwestern scored a touchdown with under two minutes to go. With how bad Iowa’s offense had been all day, the game had seemed as if it would go into overtime, but Deacon Hill led the Hawkeyes down the field in a minute and a half with help from Kaleb Brown andwith his lone reception of the day being 23 yards. At this point, Drew Stevens would go on for a 52 yard attempt and would nail it to give the Hawkeyes the win 10-7. By the time the day was done, there were only 17 total points and 14 attempted punts. Iowa is at the top of the Big 10 West at 7-2.

Illinois was hoping to take down Big Ten West leaders Minnesota for the third straight year, and they did such in dramatic fashion. Illinois and Minnesota went back and forth for 60 minutes with no team gaining a lead more than seven. This seemed like it would be a game where the last team with the ball would win, and that team was the Illini. John Paddock would find Isaiah Williams for the game winning touchdown with 50 seconds left in the game. The Illinois defense would hold Minnesota to a four and out and sentd the offense into victory formation to seal the win 27-26.

In the ACC, Louisville continues to prove that their loss to Pitt was nothing more than a fluke, and they are still very much in the College Football Playoff race. They hosted a very hot Virginia Tech team who had won three of their last four and was 3-1 in conference play. The Cardinals did not let that phase them though as they beat down on the Hokies 34-3. Offensively, the Cardinals put up 382 yards of total offense and had five total touchdowns, but once again, it was the defense with the most impressive performance. They held Virginia Tech to just 140 yards and got an interception. Since their loss to Pitt, Louisville has outscored opponents by a combined score of 57-3.

In the SEC, Kentucky snapped their three game losing skid in dominating fashion against Mississippi State to clinch bowl eligibility. Their offense had a relatively unimpressive day; only putting up 271 yards of total offense, but their defense shut down the Bulldogs. Mississippi State could not even complete 50% of their passes, only put up 218 yards of total offense, threw a pick six and was sacked five times between their two quarterbacks. This was Kentucky’s first win in Starkville since 2008.

In Knoxville, Tennessee had a playable bye week for all intensive purposes against Uconn after two road games and before another trip to Columbia, MO. The Volunteers had 650 yards of offense against UConn with four players attempting passes and 10 players rushing; three of which had over 25 yards. Despite all of that, the defense may have played even better. The Vol defense scored three touchdowns off of two pick sixes as we had a scoop and score. The Vols would only allow 256 total yards and keep them out of the endzone en route to a 59-3 win.

Vanderbilt was looking to snap their seven game losing streak against Auburn, but would come up short against the Tigers 31-15. Auburn’s defense held the Commodores to just 266 yards and 15 points while Auburn notched 424 total yards and put up 31 total points. Vanderbilt has the longest active losing streak in the SEC at eight straight games as well as the longest conference losing streak at seven straight conference losses. This is the first time Auburn has won two SEC games in back to back weeks since 2020. 

Arkansas was fighting an uphill battle as they went on the road to play Florida in the Swamp. They had just fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos and planned to have Kenny Guiton call the plays for the first time in his life. Arkansas was defeated in conference play, had lost six straight, and Florida had been undefeated at home this season. None of that mattered though as Arkansas had arguably their best offensive performance of the season. Arkansas notched 481 total yards and three touchdowns. Rocket Sanders rushed for over 100 for the first time this season while KJ Jefferson threw for the second most yards he’s had all season at 255. Florida had a very good game as well, putting up 394 yards and four touchdowns, but Arkansas scoring a touchdown in overtime while Florida had just settled for a field goal led them to the win 39-36. 

In Big 12 country, no. 23 Kansas State had a massive matchup against no. 7 Texas. Kansas State has not beaten Texas since 2016 and has not done so on the road since 2011. Early on it seemed as if it would remain that way as Texas raced out to a 27-7 lead over the Wildcats. K State would respond quickly though, scoring three straight touchdowns. Tied 27 all, the Wildcats had the chance to take the lead with a PAT, but shanked it, leaving it tied. Both teams scored a field goal to send it into overtime. Texas held strong though not letting the Wildcats score. Texas would kick a walk off field goal to win 33-30. The Longhorns are 8-1 and are tied for first place in the Big 12 with Oklahoma State. 

Down in Stillwater, Oklahoma State was hosting Oklahoma for the final Bedlam before the Sooners head off to the SEC. The Sooners were coming off of a loss to Kansas, but were 7-1, while Oklahoma State had won four straight after a rough start to the season. Both teams had incredible offensive days. The Sooners had 492 total yards while the Cowboys had 480. Oklahoma ultimately came up short losing 27-24, but the ending was surrounded by controversy. Down 27-21, Dillon Gabriel took a shot to the endzone for Drake Stoops that ultimately fell incomplete due to a lot of defensive contact. The Sooners received no help from the referees and Oklahoma State was not flagged and the Sooners had to settle for a field goal and would not get a chance to score again. Oklahoma now sits tied with four other teams for third place in the Big 12.

After their win against Oklahoma, Kansas closed as about a field goal underdog to Iowa State for the second straight year, a spread that was shocking to many, and Kansas proved that the spread did not matter to them. Kansas would take down Iowa State 28-21 to reach seven wins for the first time since 2008. They played a very consistent game offensively scoring exactly one touchdown every quarter. They were up by as many as 18 points, but let their foot off the gas letting Iowa State go on an 18-7 scoring run, but it ultimately ended up being too little too late as Kansas would hold the ball for nearly five minutes at the end of the game to get out of Ames with the win. Kansas is also tied with four other teams for third place in the Big 12.

Down at the Group of Five level, Northern Illinois kicked off Maction on Halloween with one of the most electric games of the season. Central Michigan was firing on all cylinders, blowing out the Huskies up 37-11 halfway through the second quarter. After that point, Central Michigan seemed to just give up. The Huskies went on to score 20 straight points and make it a six point game with three and a half minutes left. At this point it seemed like Central Michigan was doing everything possible to lose the game. After getting the ball back, all they had to do was get a few first downs to win the game. They would immediately go three and out and punt the ball back to NIU. The Huskies would throw an interception giving Central Michigan the ball with 1:16 left. Once again, CMU was held to a three and out and had to punt with one second left. NIU was unable to do anything though and still lost 37-31.

Western Kentucky had a relatively important game against UTEP that would allow them to keep control of a spot in the CUSA championship game. Western Kentucky is a team that usually allows quite a few points, but has a very high powered offense that lets them win games. This past weekend, it was the opposite. Offensively, the Hilltoppers only put up 280 yards, over 100 yards under their average. Austin Reed only put up 102 yards, forcing Elijah Young to be the workhorse for the offense. Young put up 139 yards and two touchdowns, outsourcing UTEP by himself. Another major reason for Young outsourcing the Miners was because of the Hilltopper defense. Despite allowing 368 yards, Western Kentucky only let up 13 points, the lowest they have allowed all season. If the Hilltoppers win out, they will be in the CUSA championship game. 

Middle Tennessee State was hoping to pull off an upset over the second place team in the CUSA, but lost a very defense heavy matchup to New Mexico State. While the Blue Raiders put up 345 yards, they only found the endzone once. Nick Vattiato only completed about 55% of his passes and threw an interception. New Mexico State played very similarly as they put up 402 yards and only found the endzone once. Diego Pavia also threw an interception and completed just barely above 50% of his passes, but two field goals allowed the Aggies to get the win 13-7.

Middle Tennessee’s cross state companion Memphis had a very different style game against Memphis as the Tigers got into a shootout with USF. For the Bulls, they put up an astounding 583 yards and seven touchdowns. Byrum Brown had 457 by himself; 100 of them on the ground, as well as five passing touchdowns. Despite those incredible numbers, they still got outplayed by Memphis. The Tigers scored eight touchdowns on the day as well as a field goal and had a total of 600 yards. USF was only up once, leading 42-38 part way through the third quarter, but Memphis would go on a 21-0 scoring run, and despite a late score by USF, the Tigers would win 59-50.

After being outscored 111-20 in the last two games, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes were looking to get their first win since September as they hosted a struggling Charlotte team at home. Tulsa came out swinging early, leading the 49ers 17-0 early and then would not score again until late in the fourth quarter as Charlotte went on an 18-0 scoring run. Tulsa got in the endzone after trailing by a point to make it 23-18 before Charlotte scored again to make it 26-23. Tulsa would kick a field goal with five seconds left to tie it, but they were only delaying the inevitable. They would fail to score in overtime after Charlotte found the endzone, and lost 33-26. Tulsa must win out to make a bowl game and they go on the road to play a ranked Tulane this upcoming weekend.

Arkansas State had not beaten a team with a winning record since they beat ULM in October of last season, but as a touchdown underdog, they did so against ULL in dominating fashion. The Red Wolves managed to put up 232 yards amongst five players. Two got in the endzone and three had more than 50 yards. In the air, they tacked on another 194. Defensively, they held the Ragin Cajuns to 327, and only let them in the endzone once. They also had a scoop and score late in the game to seal the win 37-17. 

1. Louisville (8-1) (0-0)
2. Tennessee (7-2) (1-0)
3. Iowa (7-2) (1-0)
4. Memphis (7-2) (1-0)
5.  Oklahoma State (7-2) (3-1)
6. Kansas (7-2) (3-1)
7. Oklahoma (7-2) (2-2) 
8. Kansas State (6-3) (0-1)
9. Kentucky (6-3) (0-1)
10. Nebraska (5-4) (3-0)
11. Western Kentucky (5-4) (1-0)
12. Iowa State (5-4) (1-3)
13. Arkansas State (5-4) (0-2)
14. Northern Illinois (4-5) (0-2) 
15. Northwestern (4-5) (0-2)
16. Illinois (4-5) (0-2)
17. Tulsa (3-6) (1-1)
18. Arkansas (3-6) (0-0)
19. Middle Tennessee State (2-7) (0-1)
20. Vanderbilt (2-8) (0-1)